Nick Garrardhttp://northsidesun.com/taxonomy/term/199/0
enBaseball is both complex and simplehttp://northsidesun.com/columns/baseball-both-complex-and-simple
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://northsidesun.com/sites/northsidesun.com/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Nick%20Garrard.jpg?itok=saeSJSf6" width="576" height="719" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>The 146th season of Major League Baseball, this country’s oldest professional sports organization, begins this week. Baseball does not lend itself to today’s fast-paced, instant information age. The sport, some say, is too dull and must find a way to engage today’s top young athletes. But the sport is nothing, if not tradition. And tradition has a hard time with change.</p>
<p>The organ, for example, is as much a part of baseball tradition now as it is to the sanctuary on a Sunday morning. Wrigley Field was the first to introduce the organ, and the Cubs still have a full-time organist at every home game, as do the Yankees, Red Sox and a few others. Even though many ballparks today used recorded, “canned” organ music, the tradition remains.</p>
<p>And you can’t mention those great old ball clubs without talking about their stadiums. In baseball you find the only team sport where the field itself is as much a part of the game as the players who stand on it. Other than the distance between the bases and the pitcher’s mound, no two fields are the same. Imagine if football fields or basketball courts had different dimensions or special features depending on the city and makeup of the home team.</p>
<p>Gone are the old cookie-cutter stadiums of the ’60s and ’70s with their artificial turf and common design. The new stadiums offer unique elements, which are as much a part of the fan experience as actually sitting in the stands. These are the cathedrals of the game, where we go to celebrate our teams.</p>
<p>And finally the familiar voices of summer. Baseball works so well on radio that the announcers become legends. Once you heard Marty Brennaman, Skip or Harry Caray, Vin Scully, or Jack Buck you knew who was playing and you are immediately taken to the stadium. And because of the unique nature of the stadiums you can see the action in your mind. You can hear the organ in the background. You can smell the grass. You can hear the crowd.</p>
<p>It’s understandable and smart of baseball to face the challenges of the sport head-on. MLB has experimented with a number of ways to enhance the game and the fans’ experience in an effort to adapt to this digital age. From instant replay, to the Pace of Game Committee, there’s an ongoing effort to speed up the games (thankfully no “pitch clock” yet).</p>
<p>But this game is built on well-aged tradition, and should be consumed slowly. It’s a reminder that, even today, some things worth enjoying take time. So enjoy opening day, sit on the porch and listen to a game, go to Pearl and watch the Braves, or even visit a nearby little league field, and enjoy the complex simplicity of America’s pastime.</p>
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<p>Nick Garrard is a Northsider living in Loho.</p>
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